, the department concerned with veterans' benefits and related matters. The Secretary is a member of the
in 2006). To date, all appointees and acting appointees to the post have been United States military veterans, but that is not a requirement to fill the position.
or any other person designated by the President serves as Acting Secretary until the President nominates and the
On December 8, 2008, President Barack Obama announced he would nominate retired army General
to be the 7th Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was unanimously confirmed by the
| No. |
Portrait |
Name |
State of Residence |
Took Office |
Left Office |
President(s) The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
|
| |
 |
Ed DerwinskiEdward Joseph Derwinski is an American politician who served as the first Cabinet-level United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, serving under President George H. W. Bush from March 15, 1989 to September 26, 1992...
|
IllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
|
March 15, 1989 |
September 26, 1992 |
|
George H. W. BushGeorge Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
|
| |
|
Anthony PrincipiAnthony Joseph Principi was the 4th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was appointed by President George W. Bush on January 23, 2001, and resigned on January 26, 2005...
|
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
|
September 26, 1992 |
January 20, 1993 |
| |
 |
Jesse BrownJesse Brown was the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997.-Early life:...
|
IllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
|
January 22, 1993 |
July 1, 1997 |
|
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
|
| |
|
Hershel W. GoberHershel Wayne Gober is a former government official and Vietnam War veteran. He served as acting United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs on two occasions during the administration of Bill Clinton...
|
ArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
|
July 1, 1997 |
January 2, 1998 |
| |
 |
Togo D. West, Jr.Togo Dennis West, Jr. is an American attorney and public official who was the third person to occupy the post of Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton on January 27, 1998, during Clinton's second term, and was confirmed by the Senate on May 5, 1998. He had...
|
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
|
January 2, 1998 |
May 5, 1998 |
| May 5, 1998 |
July 25, 2000 |
| |
|
Hershel W. GoberHershel Wayne Gober is a former government official and Vietnam War veteran. He served as acting United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs on two occasions during the administration of Bill Clinton...
|
ArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
|
July 25, 2000 |
January 20, 2001 |
| |
 |
Anthony PrincipiAnthony Joseph Principi was the 4th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was appointed by President George W. Bush on January 23, 2001, and resigned on January 26, 2005...
|
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
|
January 23, 2001 |
January 26, 2005 |
|
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
|
| |
 |
Jim Nicholson |
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
|
January 26, 2005 |
October 1, 2007 |
| |
|
Gordon H. MansfieldGordon H. Mansfield is a former Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs.-Political career:Mansfield was nominated to serve as Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs by President George W. Bush on November 3, 2003, and confirmed by the United States Senate on January 22, 2004. He previously served as VA...
|
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
|
October 1, 2007 |
December 20, 2007 |
| |
 |
James B. PeakeJames Benjamin Peake is a former United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, serving from 2007 to 2009. In 2004, he retired from a 38-year United States Army career. He also served as the 40th Surgeon General of the United States Army....
,
Lt.Gen., USA (Ret.) |
MissouriMissouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
|
December 20, 2007 |
January 20, 2009 |
| 7 |
 |
Eric ShinsekiEric Ken Shinseki is a retired United States Army four-star general who is currently serving as the 7th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. His final U.S. Army post was as the 34th Chief of Staff of the Army...
,
GeneralIn the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force; the Marine Corps does not have an...
, USA (Ret.) |
HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
|
January 20, 2009 |
Incumbent |
|
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
|